


Chasing Frogs

by someonethatsfunny



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Harry is 5yo, M/M, and Louis is 6yo, wow I honestly have no clue how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 16:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15733155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someonethatsfunny/pseuds/someonethatsfunny
Summary: Harry is five years old when he meets six year old Louis. Two weddings, adventures and cuteness ensue.





	Chasing Frogs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lululawrence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/gifts).



> What can I say Sus? This is the birthday fic that I started for you last summer. As my brain so often does, it decided that this was really a prologue to a much longer story. Clearly that story isn't ready yet and I long ago stopped making promises about when and where. SO, please accept this either very late or one day early birthday gift. One day, I hope to post the full story that's mostly written in my head, but for now, this does stand alone. I hope that you will enjoy some teeny tot Larry. ILY Sus. Have an amazing birthday because you deserve everything good <3

_Late Spring 1999_

 

The first time Harry saw him, the boy was spread out like a starfish on the slate floor at The Oak Tree swishing his arms and legs up and down. Curious, he watched him for a few minutes, whilst hiding safely behind a wooden pillar as the grown-ups talked about weddings.

“Yes, of course. We have several wonderful caterers that I would be more than happy to refer you to.” His mum’s voice drifted over to him, but he quickly tuned her out in favor of watching the other little boy. He looked to be about the same age as him and Harry was instantly fascinated by him.

“Hey. I can see you.” The boy’s voice scared him and he felt his face heat up, embarrassed that he'd been caught. The other boy didn’t seem bothered though. “I’m making snow angels. Do you wanna make them with me?”

“But there’s no snow?” Harry stated the obvious.

“There’s snow if you believe that there’s snow.” The boy answered him simply. And Harry didn’t really have a good response to that.

Perhaps the boy was onto something, though, because he seemed to be having a fantastic time. Harry walked over to him slowly before lying down carefully beside him. They turned their heads at the same time and stared at one another for a minute, unblinking. Harry thought that he’d never seen eyes so blue before. They were really quite pretty.

“My name is Louis, but you can call me Louis William Tomlinson because I’m getting a new dad when me mum gets married. And that’s gonna be my new name. What’s your name?”

“Harry.” Harry replied. He was too shy to say anything else even though he had plenty of questions he'd like to ask him starting with this new dad he’d mentioned. How did that even work? Where was Louis’s old dad?

“Nice to meet you Harry. Wanna make angels now?” And so they did. The two of them lay there making snow angels and Harry delighted in the sound of Louis’ happy laughter as it echoed throughout the open space surrounding them. After a few minutes, Louis sat up abruptly and looked around. “I’m bored of making angels now. Wanna play a new game?”

He’d barely nodded his head yes before Louis tapped him on the shoulder and loudly declared, “TAG! YOU’RE IT!” And just like that, he was gone. The red of the boy's shirt was streaking straight across the room towards the door leading outside. Harry scrambled to chase after him, desperate to spend more time with his new friend. This had never happened before. Usually when he came to his mum’s work with her he played by himself. There was never any other kids for him to play with. So today felt special. Meeting Louis felt like a gift. Pushing through the door, he chased him happily into the sunshine.

~~~

The following week, Harry saw Louis a second time. Louis’ mum, Jay, came back to The Oak Tree, this time with her parents to have another grown-up meeting with his mum. As Harry's mum shook hands with Jay and her parents, Louis burst through the door behind them, his eyes searching around the room excitedly. “HARRY!” he bellowed the minute his eyes landed on him. A second later he was across the room with his arms wrapped around Harry in a tight embrace. Harry didn't hesitate. He hugged him back just as tightly.

“How do those two know one another?” Harry heard the older gentleman ask Louis’ mum. The man had warm eyes that crinkled when he smiled. Harry liked him instantly.

Jay and his mum were both smiling with their eyes directed towards the boys. “They just met last week at my first appointment here, actually,” Jay answered him with a fond voice.

“Mum? Can we go out back to play?” Harry asked his mum hopefully. He noticed that both Jay and her parents were watching him and Louis with big smiles.

“Sure darling. But please stay where I can see you. And no going near the water.” There were some very important rules at Mum’s work. One of them was that Harry wasn't allowed near the lake behind the estate unless his mum was with him. He knew this rule and had never dared to challenge it.

“Yes mum,” he agreed readily. The two of them started running towards the door that led out back, but Jay’s voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Louis?” She said his name the same way that his mum spoke to him when she really _really_   wanted him to listen.

Louis stopped immediately and turned to face her, “Yes mum?”

“You heard what Miss Anne said, right? That there’s to be no playing by the lake. Do you understand, love?”

“Yes mum. No playing in the lake.” He smiled beautifully at her, his eyes crinkled up in happiness just like his grandfather. And Harry smiled too, overjoyed that his new friend had come back to see him.

“Alright then. Have fun boys. This won’t take too long.” Harry prayed that she was wrong. He wanted it to take all day so that he could have more time to spend with Louis. As quickly as he could, he led him out back, determined to make the most of the time that they did have together.

~~~

“Harry!? What did I tell you about going near the water?” Oh no. That was his mum’s angry voice so he knew that he was about to be in very big trouble. Water dripped from his shirt as he stood up and spotted her standing in front of them, her arms folded across her chest. He was right; she looked proper mad.

“I'm sorry, mum. We didn't mean to, I promise. We were just trying to—”

“I GOT IT!” Louis yelled, popping up from the shallow water beside him. His face was positively beaming with happiness. Clasped between his hands was the frog that they’d been chasing.

“Louis! You were specifically told not to go near the water. What were you thinking?” Louis mum sounded angry too and it made the hair stand up on Harry's arms. He didn't want his time with his friend to end and he worried that breaking the most important rule might end with this exact consequence. Harry glanced nervously back and forth between his and Louis’ mums before focusing on her dad who was stood behind them. The man caught Harry's eye and winked at him with a warm smile.

“Aw, Jay. I reckon the lads got busy chasing frogs and ended up here quite by accident,” Louis’ grandpa offered as a suggestion. And he wasn't entirely wrong either.

It had started off innocently with a pretty orange and black butterfly in the tall grass, fluttering happily all about them before landing in Harry's outstretched hand. He had stood very still whilst carefully watching it, nervous of scaring it away. But Louis’ loud voice had careened through the silence and the butterfly immediately took off, leaving Harry frowning, saddened by its absence.

Louis had taken one look at him and turned his lips down with regret. “Oops. I'm sorry Harry.”

Harry hadn't liked Louis looking sad so he smiled at the boy, reassuring him, “It's okay.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll catch you a new butterfly!” Louis had taken off running through the tall grass, his fingers outstretched, gliding over the tips of the blades, eyes searching everywhere for orange and black. His happy squeals filled the air and Harry had been helpless to do anything but follow him. Louis had an infectious kind of happiness.

When he smiled, it was like sunshine breaking through clouds. His laughter reminded Harry of how Christmas morning felt when he would race to the tree, excitedly searching for all the presents labeled with his name.

Harry wanted nothing more than to be wherever Louis was. He reckoned he’d follow him anywhere. Somehow, though he hardly knew the boy, he understood this to be true.

Although he was now realizing that following Louis led to trouble. Today it had sent them on a wild chase in search of a pretty butterfly. It seemed as though they'd been looking forever when Louis had become distracted by something moving on the ground. Before Harry knew what was happening, the two of them were jumping around on all fours in pursuit of a green frog instead.

Neither of them had noticed how close they'd gotten to the lake, too focused on the task at hand. When they jumped through the brush and landed in shallow water, they'd shrugged at each other figuring it was too late now. “I’ll just catch you this frog real quick and then we can go dry off in that grass over there.” Louis had explained confidently, pointing towards the grass in front of them. It sounded logical so naturally Harry had trusted him. Earlier that day he'd learned that Louis was six years old. That was a full year older than Harry's five so surely he knew what he was talking about.

“I'm in year one and you're only in primary so I’m smarter than you, Hazza,” he’d said. “Also, me mum says I'm a young whippersnapper. M’ pretty sure that means smart like Einstein.”

“Well my mum says I'm too smart for my own good,” Harry had told him defiantly, his arms folded over his chest. Harry had willed himself not to react to the new nickname which Louis had just given him. He quite liked the nickname, but he didn’t like being told he wasn’t smart.

“Well you still should listen to me cause I'm older.” Harry had wanted to be angry, but Louis continued to smile at him happily, clearly no ill will intended. So Harry had smiled back, deciding to let it go. Louis was older, after all.

“Okay.”

And that's how they ended up soaked head to toe in lake water. There might have been a water fight in the midst of chasing frogs, but Harry thought it best not to mention that. He watched as their mums exchanged serious looks with one another before breaking into fits of laughter.

“We have a dryer off of the kitchen. Would you like to stay for tea while I throw their clothes in for a quick spin?” Harry’s mum asked Jay and the others.

“That sounds lovely if you’re sure it isn’t too much trouble?” Louis’ mom hesitated.

“Don’t be silly. It’s no trouble at all. It’s a beautiful day and my next appointment isn’t for another hour so there’s plenty of time to let the boys play while their clothes are drying.”

~~~

They ended up getting another hour together that day, but it still hadn’t been enough time. It never was when it came to Louis. His mum brought him to The Oak Tree two more times leading up to the wedding and both times, the boys had instantly run off together in search of new adventures.

One of those times, Louis brought his football and the two of them spent the afternoon having a kickabout. Harry spent more time tripping over his own two feet than actually playing ball, but they still had the very best time. The next time that Louis visited it was raining so the two of them built a fort underneath a table with some table linens that they found in the banquet area. The staff was busy setting up for an event that night and while the boys thought their fort was ingenious, the staff had an altogether different opinion.

They’d crawled into their perfectly constructed table fort and proceeded to share all of their deepest secrets with one another. For a five- and six-year-old, they didn’t have too many, but they found plenty of things to talk about anyway, speaking in hushed whispers so that the grown-ups couldn’t hear them. Louis told him how excited he was that he was finally gonna have a real dad and Harry confessed that he sometimes played with his sister’s Polly Pockets when she wasn’t home.

When Louis left that day, Harry hid in their fort and cried because he hadn’t been ready for their time to be over yet. His mum found him there a short while later and brushed his hair from his forehead in a soothing gesture. “Don’t be sad, love. Louis will be back next month for his mum’s wedding and she’s asked you to come along with me that day so that Louis could have a friend to play with. Would you like to come to the wedding, darling?”

Harry’s tears instantly stopped, the thought of attending Louis’ mum’s wedding a thrilling one. His mum had been an event planner at The Oak Tree for as long as he could remember and he’d never been invited to attend a wedding with her before. “Will there be cake?” he asked his mum hopefully. His mum threw back her head in laughter and Harry happily joined her, giggling inside this special place that him and Louis had built together.

~~~

The day of the wedding was perfect. Louis’ mum looked like a fairytale princess as she glided down the aisle towards Louis’ new dad in her pretty dress, a beautiful smile lighting up her face. Harry sat in the front row watching as Louis proudly handed over the wedding rings. He looked absolutely delighted to be standing up there with his mum and his new dad, Mark. After putting the ring on Jay's finger and then kissing her, Mark lifted Louis up so that the three of them could share a big family hug. Harry knew how excited Louis was to be getting a new name and his excitement was infectious. When Louis glanced his direction, Harry felt a warm fluttering in his belly.

As soon as the ceremony ended, Louis was whisked away for family photos while Harry waited impatiently for him to return. It seemed like a lifetime to him. His mum was busy running around working so Harry snuck away quietly towards the back gardens. There, he began to gather various flowers in his hand, creating a makeshift bouquet of his own. It wasn’t as pretty as Jay’s, but Harry thought it beautiful just the same.

“Harry!” Louis’ cheerful voice called out as he came barreling around the corner. His blue bow tie was crooked, one of his shoes was untied and he had a streak of dirt across his cheek already. Harry just smiled happily at him, thinking how lovely his smile was and how blue his eyes were.

“Who are those for?” Louis asked him, pointing to the flowers grasped in his hands.

Harry felt his cheeks heat up as he glanced down at them before shyly extending his hand towards Louis. “If you like them, they can be for you.”

Louis’ answering smile was practically blinding as he accepted Harry’s offering. “We should pick more flowers, Hazza. So you can have some too!”

Harry allowed Louis to pull him to his feet and the two of them took off together, moving further into the gardens in search of pretty petals. Much like before, the two of them lost track of where they were going as they chased after one another gleefully. They probably should've been more careful given the importance of the day. Somehow, being together outshined everything else, family weddings included.

~~~~

“Harry!”

“Louis William!”

Their mums frantic voices cried out at the same time as Louis and Harry rounded the corner together, hand in hand. Harry knew immediately that their mums were displeased, but Louis didn't seem the slightest bit bothered.

“Hi Mum! Hi Miss Anne,” he happily greeted them.

“Where have you been, darling? We were worried about you. You know you can't just run off like that!” Jay admonished him.

A frown appeared, like a rain cloud darkening Louis’ face as he processed how unhappy his mum seemed to be. Harry hated to see his beautiful smile disappear. He glanced towards his own mum nervously as understanding set in. The adults were not pleased. Perhaps they shouldn't have wandered off so far today.

“But I have to tell you something, mum! It's important! And I promise, you're gonna be so, _so_ happy!” Louis paused to make sure that he had her full attention. Which of course he did. Louis wasn't exactly an easy one to ignore. Harry had wanted nothing more than to pay him all of his attention since the moment they'd first met.

When the small circle of adults that had gathered round were quiet, he finally blurted out his big announcement. “Me and Harry got married too!”

Harry watched Louis’ mum carefully through his eyelashes, too nervous to look directly at her. A pink blush colored his cheeks, but he kept a tight hold of Louis’ hand in his own anyway. It felt warm and secure and wonderful. Harry had no desire to ever let it go.

“Is that so sweetheart?” A smile teased Jay's lips. She tilted her head curiously at them.

“Yes mum! See?!” Louis stretched out both of their hands, motioning to the blades of grass that they'd twisted around each of their ring fingers.

Jay's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes twinkling as she began giggling lightly into her palm.

“Well look at that, Anne. It appears that we have more than one couple to celebrate today.”

Harry shifted his eyes towards his mum and he found her looking back at him with moist eyes, a soft smile upon her lips.

“Perhaps we should head back to the reception so that we can have a proper toast. I'm sure I can dig up some sparkling cider in the kitchen somewhere.”

Harry looked over at Louis and found that he was already watching him, a wide grin lighting up his face once more.

“Yes! I love toast! And cider! I'll race you, Hazza!” Louis yelled as he took off running towards the hall with Harry hot on his heels. It wasn't as if Harry ever had a choice. Louis never let go of his hand.

_~fin~_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Nic for looking this over for me. As always, I am grateful that you put up with my excessive spacing and everything else <3


End file.
